202 Mr. G. C. Taylor on the Birds observed 



at Enterprise ; but when I reach the hotel, I find that a county 

 court is being held, which will last some days, and the hotel 

 and settlement, such as it is, being crowded with " crackers " and 

 farmers, I decide upon continuing my journey, and accordingly 

 go on board the ' Darlington,^ which is to start next morning at 

 daylight. As soon as it gets dusk, I hear the Chuck-WilFs- 

 Widow calling loudly. This bird is not found in this latitude 

 during winter, and has not long arrived. 



April 10. — Soon after the steamer has left Lake Monroe and 

 has arrived in the narrow river, we see a flock of Turkeys on the 

 right bank, consisting of a " gobbler" and a few hens. Captain 

 Brock and several others have their rifles ready, and blaze away 

 at them, unfortunately wounding the " gobbler." This I con- 

 sider shameful destruction, and unsportsmanlike in the extreme. 

 Brock said he would stop the boat for a Deer, and points out 

 places where he has killed them. The day being rather cold, 

 with a strong breeze, is unfavourable for Alligators,^ and there are 

 not so many as usual to be seen basking on the banks. As there 

 are plenty of rifles ready to fire at every one that shows, some 

 three or four are killed. The rifles used are the small American 

 pea-rifles of a calibre from 80 to 100, and I am astonished to see 

 how eff"ective they are when loaded with a conical ball. An 

 Alligator badly wounded, but not killed at once, makes a tremen- 

 dous splashing in the water. 



Just before entering Lake George, two " gunners " (American 

 term for shooters) fire at an Alligator, fully fourteen feet long, 

 which is sleeping on the bank quite clear of the water. The 

 shots tell with good efiect. The beast scrambles in, then turns 

 on his back, splashing and kicking with his legs in the air, and 

 showing his white belly. Another well-placed shot would have 

 killed him, but, as it is, he recovers and dives. What becomes 

 of him I do not know, for the steamer soon leaves him in 

 the distance. One of the gunners shoots an unfortunate Fish- 

 Hawk while bearing a fish to its nest. It drops the fish, falls 

 in the woods, and perishes uselessly. These shooters were on 

 the watch to fire at anything that showed itself within distance. 

 On several parts of the river I saw (both going and returning) a 

 good number — some thirty or forty — of the Scolopaceous Courlan, 



